


Not Quite, But Already Falling

by strangertogether



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: And neither does Jihoon, But they'll get there eventually :), Daniel doesn't know his feelings yet, Falling slowly, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-26 15:58:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14405523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangertogether/pseuds/strangertogether
Summary: (A Walk to Remember au) Daniel is the popular troublemaker in school. After a prank goes wrong, he meets the quiet Jihoon. He ends up atoning for his mistakes while falling in love with him.Summary taken directly from @allwinkprompts





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my contribution for Starboy, a Jihoon-centric ficfest to celebrate his birthday. A big Thank You to the organizers for putting this all together!
> 
> Heads up if you read the book/watched the movie, this AU won't include the stuff that happens in the latter part of the book/movie (hence the absence of any archive warnings) but should fulfill the given prompt. If that's fine with you, then read on :)

***

"Okay, so. Run me through what's supposed to be happening tonight, again?" Sungwoon's voice crackles through Daniel's phone, and Daniel rushes to adjust the volume so he can hear the call better.

 

"Well, I lure 'Mr.-I'm-a-Smooth-Driver Ong Seongwu' here, have him drive past the detour sign and right into a shallow ditch," Daniel speaks into his phone, the call a little spotty as he is currently in the more secluded area of their campus.

 

"I've temporarily covered the "Detour" sign so he won't see it when he drives past and  _Boom!_ , his beloved car will be up to her tires in mud," Daniel smirks, even though Sungwoon cannot see him. "The plan is to have his beloved car be stuck in all this muck and I get to laugh my ass off because his car is his baby."

 

"Did you check the area yet?" Sungwoon asks.

 

Daniel looks around the less-frequented area of their campus. There is a sunken filed teeming with overgrown grass and large gravel stones; on one side is a sparse grove of trees leading to the more forest-y part of their campus, and next to it is a dirt road leading to a shallow ditch. Rain has been aplenty the past couple of weeks and campus maintenance decided to close off the dirt road until the weather turns for the better, as there have been several instances of cars trailing off the muddy dirt path and into the ditch. Rain water has collected in the shallow ditch and turned into mud, and most students would drive by unaware and get caught, tires helplessly screeching through the mud and unable to drive back up onto the road.

 

"Yeah. I didn't go past the detour sign but it looks fine-- there's no other people here or anything," Daniel assures him. He's already made sure to set this up on a Friday, when he knows for sure that majority of the school population is out and about the town, enjoying the start of the weekend. There's no way someone else besides him, and Seongwu within the next few minutes, would be in this area at such an hour.

 

Sungwoon sounds hesitant as he replies, "I mean, I don't know man, I'm not so sure this is a good idea. What if someone else comes by?"

 

Daniel pauses to reply. He thinks it's the perfect payback to one-up his best friend, Seongwu. Last month, Seongwu put up several posters in their neighborhood advertising a garage sale and posted Daniel's address. For an entire Saturday, Daniel had to deal with random strangers, and even his own neighbors, ringing his doorbell and asking what he's got for sale. Daniel had no idea what was going on and didn't grasp the situation until he discovered his garage door unlocked and open, with a lot of his belongings up for sale under a large poster saying "SALE!". People were starting to stream in and Daniel spent a good two hours trying to dissuade people from taking his personal belongings.

 

The only silver lining on that event was the fact that Seongwu had been tactful enough to do it while Daniel's mom was away. Unfortunately that silver lining was short-lived as his mom came back that same Saturday and had to see the mess that is their garage, littered with Daniel's belongings and some of his mom's, all in disarray. Suffice it to say that his mom had not been thrilled once she squeezed the story out of Daniel. Seongwu got an earful from his parents but Daniel was chewed off once his mom found out he'd been doing a string of pranks and getting other people in trouble. He had been called irresponsible and in the end his mom threatened to ship him off to his dad.

 

Daniel and his dad had always been a sensitive topic and that particular conversation hadn't ended on a positive note. His mom is still upset with him, and Daniel is still sullen.

 

Which is all the more reason he needs to one-up Seongwu, right now.

 

"Relax, hyung. This area isn't frequented, Seongwu and I have hung out here a few times now in between classes and trust me, it's always deserted because it's out of the way." Daniel assures Sungwoon while he occasionally smacks his face and neck because the night has settled in and mosquitoes have started flitting about.

 

"Okay, but keep me updated, alright? Jesus, Daniel, I know we like our fun and games but this screams trouble to me. You and Seongwu are getting out of hand recently."

 

"Hyung hyung hyung," Daniel scoffs. "You really are getting old. First, it was Jisung-hyung who decided to ditch us and bail and become a saint. And recently Jaehwan's more MIA than present whenever we get together. And now you? Seongwu and I are disappointed."

 

"Also, that's  _God Daniel_ to you," Daniel adds with an arrogant laugh.

 

There's a brief pause at the other end of the line, until finally Sungwoon sighs, and speaks up. "Fine. Be sure to look out for campus security, okay?" He heaves another sigh. "And just, let's take a little breather after this, yeah? It's all in good fun but it's getting tiring when all the three of us do nowadays is one-up one another."

 

"Yeah, yeah." Daniel replies, a little distracted as his phone vibrates, signaling an incoming text message. "I gotta go, hyung, I think Seongwu's text just came. I'll call you back later."

 

The call ends, and Daniel checks his inbox and confirms that a message from Seongwu has indeed come.

 

8:32pm

_Ong Seongwu: need 2 gas up first. see u in a few._

 

8:32pm

_Kang Daniel: dude hurry and pick me up it's freezing here._

 

8:33pm

_Ong Seongwu: ur already gettin' a free ride so be patient, child. i'll be there in a few mins._

 

Daniel decides not to reply, and pockets his phone instead. He thinks Seongwu's pulling a fast one on him when he sees the headlights of a familiar silver sedan in the distance, travelling down the gravelly path a little quicker than the campus mandated speed limit.

 

_Effin' Seongwu. This liar thinks he can sneak up on me._ He hurriedly hides behind a thicket of trees, and waits for the car to come closer.

 

_That's it, that's it, keep on driving, idiot. Because of your stupid prank mom's still in a hissy fit and keeps calling my dad and trying to get me to talk to him._

 

The car is closer now, almost ready to pass Daniel's hiding place. He smacks his neck once again when he feels another mosquito come near, and misses looking at the car as it passes in front of him. His phone vibrates, but he ignores it in favor of watching the car zoom past him and off to where the "Detour" sign is carefully hidden.

 

He happens to take a look at the license plate and had to do a double take because  _hang on, that's not Seongwu's plate..._

 

Now that he takes another look at the car, it IS silver, and it IS a sedan, exactly like Seongwu's car. But this one is just a little more beat up, and a little less shiny than the one he's used to seeing. In the dark of the night and with the distraction of bugs, he didn't notice that it was an entirely different car.

 

The roads are clear, the weather is clear, and the only thing that would get in the way of whoever the driver is is that they'll get stuck in shallow muddy waters, so Daniel didn't feel any need to worry too much about it.

 

But then things happened so fast and Daniel barely had time to process what was happening right in front of his eyes.

 

The car drives quickly past the "Detour" sign and then it seems to hit a series of road bumps, the distant clash of metal against something equally as hard audible to Daniel who watches in horror as the car hits a large rock and, instead of driving straight into the ditch it pitches dangerously on its side and crashes loudly into the trees lining the edge of the road.

 

"Oh my god."

 

Daniel sprints, his mind filled with nothing but thoughts of all things that could possibly go wrong:  _don't catch on fire, hang on, don't blow up, hang on I'm coming._ In his peripheral vision he sees the large rock, camouflaged by overgrown grass, a few feet away from where the "Detour" sign is.

 

He halts when he reaches the silver car, tipped on its side, thin branches piercing through the broken windows.

 

There's only the driver, and the car is tilted so the driver's side is facing up. Daniel runs to it, and struggles with opening the car door.

 

"Come on come on come on," He rattles the handles, and once it gives way he tugs the door open. He sucks in a breath when he gets a good look at the driver, a boy a few years his junior. Before he can say anything though, in the distance, he can hear the faint sound of a siren and he doubles his efforts to get t he driver out to safety, before anything else happens.

 

The driver doesn't seem to have any visible injuries, but Daniel is afraid of moving him. His breath hitches when the other boy groans, and a line of blood trickles from his temple down to his neck. "Damn, it hurts..."

 

"Hang on, we'll get you out of here, stay with me, stay with me," Daniel tells the other boy, unbuckling his seatbelt and carefully pulling him out of the car. The boy is light as a feather, but Daniel feels himself sweating buckets trying to figure out what to do next. He stops a few feet away from the car and gently lays the boy down. The siren sounds seem to be coming closer and he starts to panic.

 

"H-hey, are you awake? Come on. W-wake up." Daniel tries to pat the other boy awake, but all he gets is a groggy response as the boy lays limp on the grass, and finally passes out.

 

For a moment, Daniel is torn between fleeing and staying put. There's still time, he doesn't need to get involved in something like this and it's not his fault-- he didn't know this was going to happen and it was only supposed to be a harmless prank for his best friend, not for somebody else. He pulls his phone out, intending to call for help, and belatedly sees the text message that came in earlier.

 

It was from Seongwu.

 

8:37pm

_Ong Seongwu: sucker. u think i'll fall for ur stupid trick? ha!_

 

8:37pm

_Ong Seongwu: i overheard yours and sungwoon's convo i'm chillin'  at his place so come over._

 

Daniel curses, and immediately calls him back. It doesn't take long for the other line to pick up and Daniel almost doesn't hear Seongwu, as the siren sounds have gotten louder and he can see their headlights in the distance. He hurriedly cuts off his best friend and blurts out, "T-there's trouble, come help me."

 

His urgent tone must have been enough for Seongwu to get serious, as he replies, "We're going there now."

 

Before he can hang up, Sungwoon's voice filters through. "Daniel, what happened?"

 

"H-hyung, there's been an a-accident, I swear this wasn't my intention but he... he's un-unconscious right n-now and--" Daniel stutters, trying in vain to get all the words out quickly because the sirens are there again and this time, it's louder and Daniel falls to his knees beside the unconscious boy as a campus security car's headlights shine directly in front of his face.

 

He hears Sungwoon shout at the other end of the line, "Who is it?!"

 

Daniel whispers a reply, drops his phone on the ground, and raises his arms up.

 

*** 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic Daehwi and Jihoon are both legal/adult age.

***

_He hears Sungwoon shout at the other end of the line, "Who is it?!"_

_"It's Lee Daehwi," Daniel whispers in reply,_ _drops his phone on the ground, and raises his arms up._

***

 

Daniel sits primly in the cluttered Principal's Office, among the stacks of books and papers and random university memorabilia strewn all over the room. He gathers his hands in his lap, head bowed down, truly nervous about this particular meeting.

 

"How many times has it been this month alone, Daniel? And the months before this?" Professor Kim, leaning back in his stuffy leather chair, pins him with a look. He's quite sure his principal is a hair's breadth away from blowing up at him, but is trying to reign himself in lest he face the repercussions of offending the son of one of the school's biggest donors.

 

That's not to say though that he can't list all of Daniel's faults. As big of an influences as his father is at this school, there's only so much all that money can do to get him out of trouble. Professor Kim continues his tirade. "Do you know the consequences of what could have happened? Out of all the reckless things you and your little group of troublemakers have done, this is by far the stupidest yet."

 

"Are you looking to endanger the lives of my students? Just for shits and giggles?"

 

Not the same old litany again. Daniel has been to this office many times to know that Professor Kim is on the verge of repeating all his offenses again, and sure enough, like clockwork, he lists them one by one:

 

"Inside the campus: cutting classes; skipping school events; creating disturbances during class hours; defacing school property; smoking on school premises. Outside the campus, especially when you create mayhem while wearing the school's jacket: drinking and smoking in public, instigating fights with other schools."

 

Daniel tunes him out; none of these are new to him, and he's long given up on trying to correct those in authority that half of those are baseless rumors and exaggerated stories. He's tried to plead his case before but no one believed him, and what's worse, his father always pulls some strings to get him out of trouble even when there's no concrete evidence that it was him who did it in the first place. It pisses Daniel off that he can't even prepare to defend himself. Everyone just assumes  _oh hey Daniel's involved whatever he did he'll get away with it._

 

 _Even when I did nothing, I did something. So what's the point in changing thier minds?_  

 

"And now, trespassing in prohibited areas of the campus; defiling campus property." This time there's disappointment in Professor Kim's eyes when he continues, "Endangering a student's life."

 

Daniel looks up, and meets eyes with his principal. He knows that this time, it's a grave offense, and no amount of connections will get him out of this. As selfish as it sounds, somehow, he feels relieved.

 

"You're lucky there was no casualty, and even luckier that Lee Daehwi's guardian will not be pressing charges, otherwise there's no way your family will get you out of this mess."

 

 _Lee Daehwi_. Daniel had to pause when he hears the name again. He knows Lee Daehwi. Even spoken to him a few times because Daehwi knows Sungwoon and had come up to him to ask for his whereabouts before. He feels terrible for causing harm to Daehwi and curses in his head for the nth time since the accident happened.

 

"I hate to be blunt with you but if your father hadn't pulled some strings, you would still be in the campus security office now-- probably on your way to jail!"

 

The moment his dad is mentioned, Daniel knows it's going to be the same cycle again. He cuts his principal off.

 

"Don't talk to me about my fa--" Daniel starts, then stops himself. Here is another person who is well aware of his family matters, and he's not quite in the mood to let one more person get to him. He knows full well how he's able to come away from this incident unscathed, with no records, no strike to his name. But the knowledge that this is another way his estranged father has a hold on him, whether by choice or by coincidence, is something that Daniel cannot accept. He would rather be expelled than be indebted to the man who had left him and his mom and never looked back.

 

He straightens up from his seat, his deferent pose from earlier giving way to haughtiness. He swings one arm on the back of his chair and lets his hand dangle to the side, lifts his head and pins his principal with a defiant stare. "I would rather you throw me in jail. Or you should just expel me and be done with it."

 

Daniel hears the unspoken  _you little shit_ , before Principal Kim even opens his mouth. "Oh believe me, had I had any say in this, you'd have been on your way out months ago instead of staining my school's good name with all the juvenile acts you pull on a daily basis," he tells Daniel, equally as vicious, all formality gone from his tone. "Unfortunately this is also a school that worships the ground your father walks on, so I'm sure you're happy being able to get away with so much, with nary a scratch."

 

Daniel balls his hands into fists, the blatant dislike in the principal's eyes making him want to punch him for his brutal honesty and scream  _shut up!_ He continues staring at him, unable to say anything lest he digs himself further in this mess.

 

"Rules are still rules though, and even though this won't even make up for half of the trouble you've caused in this school," the principal continues, and all of a sudden the anger disappears in his eyes, to be replaced by weariness. He looks at Daniel and heaves a great sigh as if he, too, has had enough of dealing with him, "You will be punished."

 

 

***

 

 Daniel finds himself staring ahead at the entrance of the hospital where Lee Daehwi is checked in. After his meeting with the principal, Daniel couldn't be bothered to attend the rest of the day's classes. He's surprised they even let him still go to class instead of just suspending him while they decide what 'punishment' to give him. Initially, he had no intention of coming by and visiting the younger boy anytime soon, but somehow he found himself driving in the direction of the hospital and now he's here, unsure of what to do next.

 

He's received a barrage of texts and voice mails from Seongwu and Sungwoon, and even the rest of their little group had reached out to him once they found out about the incident. Everyone's wondering what happened, and in the case of Sungwoon, as soon as he found out that it was Daehwi, he wanted to talk to Daniel right away.

 

He ignores all of it.

 

Somehow, he feels anger towards them. He doesn't know why, but there's a part of him that wants to pin the blame on them, instead of himself. He's angry at Seongwu because he didn't show up. He's annoyed at Sungwoon for calling him insistently and leaving text messages asking about Daehwi's condition. He's irritated with the others for showing concern instead of just leaving him alone.

 

None of them had anything to do with this but he's already mad at himself and he wants nothing more than to put the blame on someone else. Maybe that will lessen the guilty feeling that's starting to eat him up, that voice in the back of his head telling him, loud and clear, how much of a douche he is, despite his best attempts to ignore it.

 

Before he knows it, he's inside the hospital and have asked reception where Daehwi's room is located. After a quick search, the nurse logs his name and time of visit, and hands Daniel a visitor's sticker with his name on it.

 

"Patient Lee Daehwi is in Room 401, and the elevators are to your right." The nurse says, handing him back his ID.

 

"Thank you," Daniel bows, all of a sudden feeling anxious, and heads for the elevators.

 

***

 

When he arrives to the correct floor and locates the correct room, Daniel stops right in front of it and takes a deep breath. He hears voices insides and prepares himself to meet Daehwi's guardian. He knocks.

 

"Come in," a familiar voice calls out.

 

Daniel opens the door, and pauses when he sees the occupants of the room: there's Daehwi, awake and sitting up. There's a gauze on his forehead, and a few scratches on his face and arms but otherwise, he looks none the worse for wear, if the tired smile he directs at Daniel is any indication.

 

"Hyung," Daehwi greets him tiredly. "What a surprise to see you here."

 

"What are you doing here?" says the only other occupant of the room, and Daniel lets himself in and closes the door before he turns to the other two.

 

"Hey Daehwi," Daniel begins, and takes a few steps forward, "Hey Jihoon."

 

"What the hell do you think you're doing here? After you--"

 

"Jihoon-hyung, let's not--"

 

"--after you almost killed Daehwi?" The livid look on Jihoon's face renders Daniel speechless, unable to form a reply in the face of being immediately called out on his wrongdoing.

 

 _Park Jihoon._ It's been a while since he's stood within talking distance with him. There was a brief moment back when they were younger when he used to be neighbors with Jihoon, and he had spent quite a few lazy afternoons hanging out on Mrs. Park's front porch, quietly accompanied by Jihoon while Daniel chugged glass after glass of their cold lemonade while waiting for his parents to come back from work. Daniel's mom had entrusted him to Mrs. Park, as the other lady was a stay-at-home mom and would frequently offer her house to Daniel so he's not left alone while his parents were away.

 

Even though they were neighbors, and Daniel had come over to Jihoon's house numerous times, they were never particularly close. Jihoon kept him company because his mom told him so and Daniel accepted Jihoon's company because he wasn't exactly in a position to refuse. To say the least, Daniel remembers they stuck with each other mostly because they had no other option. That had been Daniel's routine for a while, until his parents got a divorce and his mom decided to move to a new place.

 

Daniel moved houses shortly after that. As young as they were, he never felt the need to keep in touch with Jihoon and Jihoon, well, he probably thought the same. And so they reverted back to just being acquaintances. They went to the same school, attended the same community events, and visited the same stores within the neighborhood but never talked outside of the standard hi/hello when they cross each other's paths.

 

The most that Daniel currently knows about Jihoon is that he's part of the theater group, and that he's a little on the quiet side. He vaguely recalls Jihoon being a reserved person so to see him act so brash towards him is something Daniel wasn't expecting.

 

Daniel is pulled from his thoughts when he hears Daehwi trying to placate Jhoon. "Jihoon-hyung, it's okay. Daniel-hyung, don't mind him, please have a seat."

 

"No, he can't stay here." Jihoon crosses his arms, and refuses to acknowledge Daniel's presence.

 

"He's my visitor, not yours." Daehwi argues back.

 

"Daehwi, I'm supposed to be looking after you and--"

 

"Hyung, calm down. Really. Actually I'm starting to feel lightheaded the more I argue with you so can you please calm down?"

 

This last statement seems to work on Jihoon as he immediately deflates, and apologizes to Daehwi. "Sorry, Daehwi."

 

"Uh," Daniel starts, and both boys turn to look at him. "Look Daehwi, I'm really sorry for what happened."

 

"Yeah, right." Jihoon pipes up, angling his body so he's blocking Daniel from getting a good look at Daehwi.

 

"Jihoon-hyung." Daehwi's voice is stern, but he softens it by reaching for Jihoon's hand and patting it. "Can you please step out a moment? I'd like to speak with Daniel-hyung myself."

 

There's a beat where Jihoon and Daehwi engage in a silent staring match, until finally Jihoon relents and shakes his head.

 

"Fine. I have to get back to class anyway," Jihoon tells Daehwi. "But I'll be back after school to check up on you."

 

"Don't we-- I mean you-- don't you have rehearsals?"

 

"I'll show up for rehearsals for a bit and then I'll head on over here straight after. I'll let you know how it goes." Jihoon arranges the blankets on Daehwi, and adjusts his bed.

 

Daehwi, with a little help from Jihoon, gingerly lays himself back down. "Yeah, please. I'm sorry I can't participate for this one, hyung."

 

"What are you sorry about?" Jihoon asks him, annoyed. "This isn't your fault but rather some thoughtless jerk who thinks they can do whatever they want."

 

Daniel knows the jab is directed at him, and while it's true it's not above him to roll his eyes because he's not interested in dealing with Jihoon acting all high and mighty over something that doesn't concern him.

 

"Mom's going to stop by tonight too, we'll spend dinner here with you," Jihoon says as he starts grabbing for his school bag. "I'll see you later."

 

Jihoon turns, and meets eyes with Daniel. He gives Daniel the most furious look he can muster when he walks past him. Daniel returns it with an apathetic stare of his own, brushing off the younger boy's anger. He doesn't care what Jihoon thinks, he's here for Daehwi.

 

Once Jihoon is out the door, Daniel turns to Daehwi and sees the expression on Daehwi's face turn from apologetic to glum.

 

"Hey Daniel-hyung," Daehwi starts. "I'm actually... kind of surprised to see you here. I had though you would put off visiting me until the very last minute. Did Sungwoon-hyung put you up to this?"

 

"What? No." Daniel replies, a bit stung at the implication that he would not have come here of his own volition. But then again, it's another one of those assumptions most people have regarding him, and he can't be bothered trying to correct them, partly because it's true.

 

"I wanted to... apologize for what happened.," Daniel tells him. "I'm really sorry for what happened, Daehwi, I didn't intend for it to end up this bad."

 

"What were you hoping to have happened?" Daehwi replies, "I heard that it was supposed to be for Seongwu-hyung and I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"I would like to say it's okay, but right now I'm not exactly in my best condition," Daehwi stares at his blanket, and Daniel follows his gaze, and that's when he realizes that one of Daehwi's legs is in a cast.

 

Daniel gasps. "Daehwi, I'm really sorry."

 

"And to think I thought you and your group were so cool, and wanted to be part of that," Daehwi turns his head to the window and laughs bleakly, "Jihoon-hyung is right. Now I realize you're not all you're cracked up to be, and I question why I even thought you guys were cool in the first place."

 

There's nothing that Daniel can say to that, so he keeps quiet and waits for what else Daehwi wants to say.

 

Daehwi doesn't look back at him and continues staring out the window. After a few moments, he mumbles, "I think you can go now, Daniel-hyung. Thanks for visiting me."

 

***

 

Daniel steps out of Daehwi's room, head spinning. He's not sure why he thought it was a good idea to visit when it should be obvious that everyone's still fuming mad about the whole thing. He's filled with regret, but it's not like the people he's affected would listen to his side of the story. Not when even he himself doesn't think he can worm his way out of this mess.

 

He looks to his right, and promptly sees Jihoon leaning against the wall, his school bag laying on the chair next to him. Jihoon is already looking at him, and it seems that he's been waiting the entire time.

 

"I thought you went back to school?" Daniel says, hoping to keep this conversation-- and he knows from the look on Jihoon's face that there is going to be more than just a conversation-- as civil as possible.

 

"Does it look like I did?"

 

Alright, looks like civility is out the door for today. Daniel tries to walk past him, "Look Jihoon, I have no time for this."

 

Jihoon blocks his way. "Sure you don't. Your time's much better spent thinking about how you can make the lives of other people miserable, right?"

 

"This doesn't involve you--" Daniel stands his ground.

 

"Oh but it does. Daehwi's practically my brother," Jihoon cuts him off, voice pitched low. "He lives with me and my mom, Daniel. His mom entrusted him to us."

 

"I have a responsibility to take care of him so don't think for a second that I won't butt my nose in this."

 

"Oh here we have the high and mighty Park Jihoon," Daniel's hackles rise, and he sneers, "Aren't you supposed to be the quiet one?"

 

Jihoon looks at him, and this time, he looks at Daniel with such contempt it makes Daniel avert his eyes. "We're not friends so don't assume you know me."

 

Daniel thinks it's true. To say they are friends would be an absolute stretch. Sure, there was a time back then when they briefly spent time together, but beyond that they know absolutely nothing about each other.

 

Jihoon starts walking away, but before he can get too far he spares Daniel one last glance and tells him, "The Kang Daniel I used to know would never act like this."

 

***

 

If the ordeal in the hospital hadn't been enough, when Daniel came straight home, he was greeted with the sight of his mom's car parked in their driveway. He runs his palm across his face in exasperation. He was hoping he'll have maybe a day or two more before his mom gets back from her business trip so he can have some time to figure out how he'll let her know what he got himself into.

 

Daniel unlocks the door, and tentatively calls out a, "I'm home," once he gets in the hall. He doesn't receive a response nor does he see his mom anywhere. "Must be in the kitchen," he muses.

 

He walks to the back of the house and spots his mom sitting at their small dining table, a spread of documents and paperwork and her laptop laid out in front of her. She's brought her work home again, and Daniel isn't surprised in the least. "Welcome back, mom."

 

For several seconds his mom continues perusing her paperwork, ignoring Daniel's greeting. Then she stops, puts down the page she's reading, and looks up at Daniel. "I just got off the phone with the principal, and he told me everything that happened," she starts. Daniel can see the barely concealed anger behind her eyes. "I'm so disappointed in you Daniel."

 

 _Straight into the heart of things, I see._ Daniel immediately shuts himself off. "Oh, I'm doing well, thanks for asking, mom." He turns his back to her, and walks over to the fridge to get himself a bottle of water. "I missed you while you were away and am so glad you're home now."

 

He doesn't intend to sound sarcastic, but Daniel is at the end of his patience and has had enough of dealing with all the bullshit that's been thrown his way today. If he's looking for an ally with his mom, it seems he won't be getting it today.

 

"Don't be smart with me, Daniel." His mom's tone is curt, and all business.

 

"I had to cut my trip short because Professor Kim personally called to tell me what happened." His mom slams her laptop shut, and raises her hands in frustration. "How can you be so careless? Is this what you and your so-called friends have been up to nowadays? I don't recall ever raising you to be this rebellious."

 

Daniel lets his mom speak, he knows the drill by now-- there's going to be lots and lots of words, and in the end, even if they're still a bit miffed with each other, they'll grudgingly come to a truce and make up. Between the two of them, it's always how it's worked out and Daniel is used to it. He may have issues with his mom but they're all they have left of each other and they're both well aware of it.

 

"I spoke with your dad and--"

 

Now this, Daniel will always have an issue with. "--you talked to dad?"

 

"How else did you think you got away with nothing but community service and school-related duties?" his mom tells him, arms crossed.

 

"I'd rather be expelled than receive help from that man--"

 

"Daniel!"

 

"We've been through this many times before! And I think it's high time that you stop blaming your father for everything," his mom's anger evaporates when she looks back at Daniel's stoic face. She sighs. "Daniel, he's trying, he really is."

 

"I wish you would give him a chance," his mom holds out both of her hands to reach for Daniel's, and she runs her thumbs along the back of his hand, "Please."

 

Daniel refrains from answering, as they both know how he feels about this. It's not something he would like to dwell on today though, and so he settles for clearing the air with his mom instead. For now, that's enough.

 

"I'm sorry, mom," Daniel says.

 

They both know it's a non-answer, but even so his mom stands up and envelopes Daniel in a hug. "I'm sorry too, love. Mom hasn't been the best recently at taking care of you and I'm sorry about that. You know I do all these for the two of us, right?"

 

Daniel doesn't reply, but he tightens his embrace to let his mom know that he understands. He really does.

 

***

 

When they've settled down and cleared the dining table so they can have a proper dinner-- Daniel's mom had whipped up a quick dish while Daniel helped set up the table-- his mom picked up where they left off before.

 

"I spoke with your principal earlier," she repeats her earlier statement, "and he told me that while there's not going to be any expulsion, you cannot get away scot-free and you still have to be held accountable."

 

"Did he tell you what he has in store for me?"

 

"Yes, actually." His mom pulls up her phone, and opens an email from the school. "There's quite a few, and this is all compulsory."

 

"That's... fair." Daniel takes a deep breath, and waits for his mom to continue reading from her email.

 

"You'll be doing community service one Saturday every month, until the end of the school year. You will help out the student council with remedial classes for the underclassmen once a week, until the end of the school year. You also need to set aside time after school to do cleaning duty under supervision of the school's maintenance department. You are also suspended from Dance Club activities so you can--"

 

"Dance? But why?" Daniel chimes in, "They can't take that away, that's got nothing to do with what I did!"

 

His mom continues, unnerved, as if she knows Daniel was going to interrupt at that part. "--so you can take over Lee Daehwi's part in the theater program."

 

Daniel's mouth drops at the absurdity of this last one. Of all things. Of all things, he has to give up dance in favor of playing whatever hoity-toity part it is that the theater group is cooking up.

 

"The school council is using this as your last chance and if you skip, or fail to do any of these, they've decided that you won't be eligible for graduation."

 

"Daniel, I know you hate this when I bring him up but," his mom sighs, and braces herself, "even your father agreed to it."

 

The mention of his dad, and his ineligibility for graduation, is more than enough for Daniel's head to spin. Suddenly defeated, he nods blankly at his mom.

 

"If it's any consolation, I'm sure you remember but you'll be playing opposite that neighbor of ours from back then. Remember him? Polite little thing, he was the sweetest boy. I remember you used to finish all the lemonade in their house."

 

Daniel's eyes widen and he abruptly stands up from his seat-- "Mom, no, please don't say it's--"

 

"--You'll be playing opposite Park Jihoon, isn't that good news?"

 

"You can't be serious." --and promptly plops back onto his chair in shock.

 

***


	3. Chapter 3

***

_"You'll be playing opposite Park Jihoon, isn't that good news?"_

_"You can't be serious."_

***

 

Daniel can count on one hand the number of times he's been to the school's theater department. He knows where it is, he's passed in front of the building numerous times but he's never had any good reason to walk through their doors, and right now he's finding it absolutely difficult to walk through the main halls as he halfheartedly tries to locate the room where the theater club is meeting. He goes over his conversation with his mom the other night:

 

_"Principal Kim assigned you this himself, he thinks it'll be a good experience for you. The theater's already doing well but he thinks it won't hurt f you participate."_

 

_"He dislikes me for attracting so much attention and yet he wants me to join this so the school gains more buzz? How very... advantageous for him."_

 

_His mom sighs in exasperation. "Just do it, Daniel. No one is out to take revenge on you, stop thinking the worst of people."_

 

It takes him a good five minutes before he finds Room 529, and he opens the doors to find himself right smack in the middle of about a dozen or so actors, writers, and members. They all collectively turn their heads when he enters, and Daniel has to steel his resolve to stay put instead of his much more natural inclination to turn tail and not do this at all.

 

He stiffly walks over to the last available chair and plops himself down. Everyone is arranged in a circle, and Daniel scans the room, eyes immediately landing on Jihoon who's seated at the other side of the circle. Oddly enough, considering they butted heads the last time they met, Jihoon barely spared him a glance ever since he came in. He doesn't have a problem with that and doesn't intend to think any more of it so he continues scanning the room until he sees a familiar face he hasn't spoken with in a while.

 

"Jisung-hyung?"

 

"Daniel!" Jisung closes his notes and waves at him, "You made it."

 

"Uh, yeah. Hey," Daniel says, suddenly confused about the appearance of Yoon Jisung. The two of them are pretty close friends, and are even part of the same social group. But contrary to Daniel, Jisung is dead-set on fulfilling his campus responsibilities and have taken to focusing more on his studies rather than spend every possible free time with Daniel and the others.

 

"You must be surprised to see me here, right? I'm actually not supposed to be a part of this production but I heard that you were going to replace Daehwi and well, I thought if you had me here you won't have as much of a hard time adjusting."

 

Daniel smiles. "Are you running this entire production?"

 

"Nah. Just here to facilitate script reading and other odds and ends. Speaking of which, here is yours." Jisung hands him a copy of his script. "You can read the entire play later to get a good grasp of what the story's about but for today, we'll have you jump right in and read some lines together."

 

"Okay, thanks." Daniel says grudgingly. The other members don't say anything, and have mostly returned to their own scripts.

 

They run through the first couple of scenes which doesn't involve Daniel's character yet, and so Daniel takes this time to observe the rest of the students gathered in the room. They all, at least at a glance, seem very absorbed in their respective characters, delivering their lines no matter how small with as much emotion as the scenes require.

 

They go through several more scenes until Daniel turns a page and sees that it's finally time for him to run some lines of his own. From the premise it seems that the main actors will  be him and Jihoon: he'll be playing the role of a young single father who used to turn away his only daughter. Upon realizing that his daughter truly thinks that he hates her, he sets about finding the present that she wants the most so he can give it to her as a birthday gift. Jihoon will be playing a mysterious character who helps Daniel find it. Daniel's character, with help from Jihoon's character, finds out at the end that what his daughter really wants is for them to be a family, even if it's just the two of them.

 

It seems pretty simple but the main charm of the play is how it is supposed to weave in  _magical, mysterious, and moral_ elements in the story. Cornily enough Jisung had tried to sell the focal points of the story as the "Three Ms", which everyone laughed about. Daniel didn't get what was funny about it and thought the story was really more like  _absurd, weird,_ and  _boring._

 

Jihoon hasn't spoken a thing ever since Daniel came in, which is a relief, because he really does want to try and go through this without any more issues. This is more like the Jihoon that he knows, and he's relieved.

 

It's their first scene together and Jihoon starts with his line. Once the words are out of his mouth, Daniel is... surprised. This wasn't what he was expecting. Not that he was expecting an Oscar-worthy delivery but this was just... sub-par. Coming from someone like him with no background in acting whatsoever, he's a little underwhelmed by how unemotional Jihoon was reading his lines.  _Isn't he one of the leads? Everyone is giving their all and he's just... meh?_

 

He needs to read his lines next so he shrugs his initial observation for now. He runs his fingers down the page and marks which one he needs to read.  He reads his lines out loud, but he knows from the looks that the others are giving him that there's something quite off with his delivery.

 

"Daniel, can you go again?" Jisung asks, and then he turns with an exasperated sigh to Jihoon, "and Jihoon, please cooperate."

 

Daniel has no idea why Jihoon's being asked to cooperate but,  _that's none of my business, I suppose._

 

This went on for a while, him and Jihoon exchanging dialogue with about as much conviction as a pair of slugs.

 

It's probably because of this that Daniel fumbles up his lines even more, that even though he's reading from a script he still manages to mess up his delivery and mix up his dialogue. On his fourth re-read, he hears Jisung sigh in frustration.

 

"Everyone, let's wrap up for the day," Jisung closes his script and gathers his book bag. As everyone starts filing out, Jisung calls out to him. "Daniel, can you stay back for a minute? I want to ask you something."

 

"Sure, yeah." Daniel replies, and he doesn't miss how Jihoon scrambles to leave the room as quickly as the rest of his peers.

 

Once all the others are gone, Jisung asks him, "Are you trying to be bad at this?"

 

Daniel rolls his eyes. "No, it just comes naturally."

 

Jisung sighs again. "You need to get help. And Jihoon already chewed me out for this but I would prefer if you reach out to him and ask to practice your lines together. Given that we don't have much time, I think it's best if he helps you on this since you're both leads."

 

"No offense to him, hyung, but I think  _he_ needs help too. What's up with him?"

 

"Jihoon? Uh, I told him you'll be replacing Daehwi and he wasn't too happy about it. Don't worry, he's just being a petulant child but he's very passionate about acting."

 

"Passionate... he was as bad as me earlier though?"

 

"Nonsense. He'll be fine, don't worry. I knew you'd need help so I already spoke with him about this. Jihoon's willing to help you for the sake of the play. You should, too."

 

Daniel would rather not, even though it seems that the initial hostility that him and Jihoon displayed towards each other has mostly diminished. To be honest he'd rather not do this at all but he remembers how his mom had been adamant that he straighten his life out. He remembers that regardless of how he feels about school and everyone in this place, he needs to graduate. So he squares his shoulders and after a moment's pause, nods in Jisung's direction, "I... I'll ask him."

 

"Good. That's settled, then?"

 

"Yeah. But seriously, he was so crappy earlier, hyung."

 

 Jisung actually laughs at that. "Why would he be our lead if he was crappy? If you haven't figured it out yet, he was botching his delivery on purpose. It's a weird habit of his and darn if it doesn't make me want to pull my hair out too but, yeah."

 

"I'm going to have a little heart to heart with the other brat-- I mean Jihoon, so he'll be on his best behavior when you two practice," Jisung tells him as he walks to the doors.

 

"Even though, you know, he was probably being extra difficult to you because well, you did put his beloved dongsaeng in a cast," Jisung adds before he slams the doors shut.

 

***

 

The perfect opportunity presents itself the following day when Daniel has just finished class, and is standing in front of his locker trying to stuff his books inside. In his peripheral vision he sees Jihoon walking down the hall and, upon confirming that it's just him and Jihoon right now, Daniel thinks now is the best time to ask for Jihoon's assistance.

 

As he watches the younger boy come closer Daniel is hit with a sudden, random thought that Jihoon would infinitely look better if only he put a little more effort in presenting himself as something other than a mess of mismatched, baggy clothing. It also doesn't help that he chooses to keep his bangs covering his eyes, and on top of that, further hides his face by wearing an obnoxiously large, black, thick-rimmed fake glasses, the ones without actual lenses. Daniel can only shake his head in wonder. It's like Jihoon is simultaneously trying to stand out with his oversized clothing and also blend in by hiding his face.

 

He takes a breath and stops Jihoon when they're within a few feet of one another. "Hey Jihoon."

 

"Hey." Jihoon replies just as casually.

 

The way they're facing each other now, one would think that they hadn't butted heads before. It does seem though that Jihoon has gotten over his initial outburst towards Daniel and now both of them are acting civilly. Daniel is smart enough not to rock the boat right now.

 

"So, I was thinking, and Jisung-hyung suggested it too, but could you help me with my lines for the play?"

 

"Ah, yeah, I can do that.  We can meet you tomorrow after lunch? I have a free period then."

 

"Works for me, that's great," Daniel replies, and he exhales in relief. He was expecting some sort of resistance, but his easy acquiescence is welcomed, too. "Thanks, Jihoon."

 

Jihoon just nods his head in acknowledgment, and starts walking again.

 

Daniel watches him walk past for a bit, then returns to closing his locker. Right as he slams it shut, he sees Seongwu and Sungwoon round the corner, and head straight for him.

 

Seongwu is the first to greet him, "Yo Daniel. You've been nonexistent lately. Besides the fact that we're both in hot water for all the shit you did, what's up?"

 

The flippant way that Seongwu addresses their current predicament makes Daniel want to shove Seongwu's face in a pie. "Go to hell, ass. Do you know how much I have to do because of you?"

 

"Not my fault, though? You were the one who was--"

 

"--Daniel-hyung, I forgot to ask, shall we meet in the study hall tomorrow for practice?"

 

Daniel, Seongwu, and Sungwoon all turn at the sound of Jihoon's voice, and Daniel inwardly cringes. In a town as small as theirs, and in a school that's still a little bit hung up on perpetuating stereotypes, Jihoon suddenly popping back up in all his mismatched glory makes Daniel turn red in embarrassment. He personally finds nothing wrong with it but certain stereotypes about him and Jihoon have already been built up from way back and it's a bad habit that Daniel can't get rid off, no matter how much he thinks in his head that it shouldn't matter. Also the fact that Jihoon is bringing up anything theater-related is something that Daniel refuses to be known in public. At least for now. 

 

He knows immediately that the next words coming out of his mouth is not going to be nice, and he already hates himself for saying it. "As if I would."

 

Jihoon's face immediately turns red out of embarrassment but he plows on. "But we just-- I mean-- we're meeting tomorrow, right?"

 

" _Sure._ If you say so."

 

Jihoon looks confused, but realization dawns on him when he looks at Seongwu and Sungwoon's amused looks, and Jihoon's eyes go blank.

 

"I see. Well, in any case please set aside time to read your lines," Jihoon says flatly, and promptly walks away again.

 

"Dude, what was that about?" Seongwu asks once Jihoon is gone.

 

Daniel wants to crawl in a hole as he replies, "Beats me."

 

***

 

Daniel doesn't know what prompted him to head straight to where Jihoon lives right after his last class ended. He felt like a jerk immediately after Jihoon walked away, and he wanted to apologize for how he acted. He might have gained notoriety for his pranks and his tendency to disregard school rules, but he was never one to be intentionally malicious towards a fellow student.

 

However, all of that is out the window now that he's displayed such behavior that even he despises. He's not sure how he can explain himself to Jihoon but here he is, right at their doorstep, ringing the doorbell.

 

The door opens abruptly, with Jihoon standing in the doorway, and before Daniel can even open his mouth the door closes in his face just as quickly.

 

"Jihoon, come on. I'm really sorry about earlier." Daniel starts knocking.

 

The door opens again, and Jihoon steps out. Daniel immediately steps back. "What are you sorry about?" Jihoon asks.

 

"It's just that... can we keep this a secret for now? My friends don't know about this yet."

 

Jihoon stares at him, dumbfounded. "How are we going to practice together then?"

 

"I figured, we can just meet at the theater room instead of the study hall whenever we need to read lines together, wouldn't that be more convenient?"

 

"So your friends won't see you hanging out with me, right?" Jihoon asks him.

 

"No-- of course not. It's just, I mean... you know..." Daniel briefly looks up and when he sees Jihoon's gaze fixed on him, he snaps his head to the side.

 

When a few seconds pass with Daniel just floundering for words, Jihoon lets out a disappointed chuckle, "For a moment back there I thought you were the hyung I remember when we were neighbors. You know, nice. And friendly. Guess I was wrong." The younger boy shakes his head and heads back inside.

 

When the door closes on Daniel's face again, he goes back to knocking. He calls out Jihoon's name, "Jihoon, come on. I could really use the help. I said I was sorry!"

 

He knows he's being annoying and probably overstepping his boundaries but he's got a stubborn streak, and right now might not be the best time to be displaying it but he stands his ground, determined to get Jihoon hear him out. He rings the bell. "Jihoon!"

 

He rings the bell again, and the door opens after a beat, but instead of Jihoon, it's jihoon's mom. Daniel staggers backwards in surprise, eyes wide. She gives him a pointed glare, her eyes an exact match to Jihoon's own expressive ones.

 

"I-- I'm sorry," Daniel says, backing away when Jihoon's mom continues to stand at the front door, arms crossed in silence.

 

***

 

The next day at school, Daniel loiters in the study hall, looking for Jihoon. The night before he sent the younger boy a message, apologizing for his actions and telling Jihoon that he'll see him at the study hall so they can practice together. He's not really surprised when Jihoon doesn't show up, but even so, he waits around for a bit before he squares his shoulders, steps out of the hall, and starts walking in the direction of the theater building.

 

When he steps in Room 529, Jihoon is already there, with his back to him, arms crossed on top of his desk and his head resting there, seemingly napping. Daniel takes careful steps towards him, and for a moment studies the boy in front of him. Jihoon is drowning in a giant yellow hoodie and he's still wearing those ridiculous specs, but in this state, he somehow exudes a calming aura and Daniel can't help but keep staring.

 

"Hey Jihoon," Daniel starts, and he waits to see if Jihoon will wake up. When he doesn't, Daniel sighs and sits on the desk in front of him.

 

"Hey. I'm really sorry for acting like that. Really." Daniel lays his bag on top of his desk as well, and mirrors Jihoon's position. He doesn't know Jihoon that well, and he doesn't know when he'll get the courage to apologize properly so he takes this opportunity instead.

 

"I'm truly sorry for getting Daehwi in an accident. I would never wish harm on him or anybody,  I hope you know that. And I apologize for getting you in this mess, too. I'm sorry that this hyung neighbor from before acted like a jerk towards you."

 

Daniel glances at Jihoon's prone position, and against his better judgment he reaches over and, just like how he vaguely remembers doing it to Jihoon back when they were neighbors, he gently pats the younger boy's head.

 

He keeps his hand on Jihoon's head, and absentmindedly starts tousling his hair. "You... probably don't want to practice with me even more now but I really need your help so I'll just ask forgiveness in advance... because I will keep bothering you until you agree to work with me."

 

"Once the play is over I promise I won't bother you. Like Jisung-hyung said, there's not a lot of time for me to learn all these, and I'm depending on you so please help me through this."

 

"Okay, Jihoon? This hyung won't be able to say all these while you're awake, so--"

 

"--why do you have to talk so much?"

 

Daniel jumps back. Jihoon is clearly awake now, and seems to have been awake the whole time, his big eyes open wide and staring intently at Daniel.

 

"I didn't realize you were awake." Daniel feels the heat climb up his face, embarrassed at being caught in such a soft, unguarded state. He realizes that he still has his hand on Jihoon's head so he quickly retracts it.

 

Jihoon sits up, and shrugs his shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

 

"I... came for practice... and I know you probably already heard all that I said earlier so," Daniel continues, trying to regain what little bit of pride he has left, "you have to help me."

 

"That sounds very demanding," Jihoon replies, patting his own hair down as he fixes Daniel with a look, "and don't touch my hair again, please."

 

Daniel blinks, unsure of what to say next. He was prepared for Jihoon to give him a hard time but even though the other boy isn't exactly jumping up and down to welcome him, there's also no sign that Jihoon's about to argue with him. Jihoon sits up straighter, and in his yellow hoodie and fake glasses and piercing gaze, Daniel doesn't quite know what's going to happen next as  he waits for Jihoon to speak.

 

"I'll help you learn your lines," Jihoon starts, and holds a hand out. "But you have to promise me one thing."

 

"Shoot."

 

"You have to promise not to fall for me."

 

Daniel tries his best not to snort, internally rolling his eyes because  _what the hell, man?_ but he reigns himself in and gingerly shakes the proffered hand.

 

"Not gonna be a problem."

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following parts were lines taken from the movie. I tweaked them juuust a bit so it's not exactly the same lol. The original dialogue was:  
> "You have to promise you won't fall in love with me."  
> "That's not a problem."
> 
> and also:  
> "Are you trying to be bad at this?"  
> "No, it just comes naturally."


End file.
